Do you know what VerifiedVPN Toolbar is?
VerifiedVPN Toolbar is a browser plug-in that might prove to be potentially harmful to your computer and your computer’s security. This application has been developed by MindSpark, and so it belongs to a big group of browser extensions that are supposed to provide your browser with particular functions. However, our piece of advice is that you should remove VerifiedVPN Toolbar from your system as soon as possible because this application is highly vulnerable to third-party exploitations, and you might be inadvertently redirected to dangerous sites that distribute malware.
As mentioned above, VerifiedVPN Toolbar comes from the MindSpark family, so this application is practically identical to DailyLocalGuide Toolbar, ReferenceBooks Toolbar, RetroGamer Toolbar, and others. These browser extensions are very good at making the impression that they are reliable and useful plug-ins, designed to improve your browser’s functionality. What’s more, VerifiedVPN Toolbar comes with an official website that functions for a change, so when a program can be downloaded directly it doesn’t look that suspicious. Nevertheless, all the other MindSpark toolbars have exhibited the very same features, so we can say that VerifiedVPN Toolbar and others are just trying to trick the unsuspecting users into trusting them.
VerifiedVPN Toolbar screenshot
Scroll down for full removal instructions
The official website for VerifiedVPN Toolbar is located at verifiedvpn.com. However, our research suggests that you can also download VerifiedVPN Toolbar bundled with freeware and shareware applications. That is why sometimes users think this browser extension is malicious infection. They simply don’t understand where VerifiedVPN Toolbar has come from although they most definitely have installed it on their computers themselves, together with some shareware application. This calls for extreme caution whenever you download and install shareware apps on your computer.
In fact, even if you were to download VerifiedVPN Toolbar from the official website, you still need to read every single installation wizard’s step carefully. This toolbar is said to be able to provide with an anonymous VPN, thus protecting you from identity theft, but one of the installation steps CLEARLY states that Ask.com will be set as your homepage and default search engine if you do not remove the ticks from the selection boxes. Consequently, if users are inattentive, eventually they think that VerifiedVPN Toolbar is a browser hijacker because after the installation their default browser settings get modified.
Although VerifiedVPN Toolbar is not an extremely dangerous computer security threat, it is still an intrusive and annoying application that might accidentally leak your personally non-identifiable information to unreliable third parties. Thus, it would be for the best to remove VerifiedVPN Toolbar from your system and then invest in a licensed computer security app that would protect your system from similar intruders in the future.
How to Remove VerifiedVPN Toolbar
Windows 8 & Windows 8.1
- Move the mouse cursor to the bottom right of your screen.
- Click Settings on the Charm bar and go to Control Panel.
- Open Uninstall a program and remove VerifiedVPN Toolbar.
Windows Vista & Windows 7
- Open the Start menu and click Control Panel.
- Go to Uninstall a program and remove VerifiedVPN Toolbar.
Windows XP
- Click the Start button and navigate to Control Panel.
- Select Add or remove programs and uninstall VerifiedVPN Toolbar.
Restore Your Browser’s Settings
Internet Explorer
- Press Alt+T and go to Manage add-ons.
- Click Search providers on the left.
- Set a new default search engine and remove Ask.
- Press Alt+T and go to Internet options.
- Change your homepage address under General tab and click OK.
Mozilla Firefox
- Press Alt+T and go to Options.
- Change your homepage address under the General tab and click OK.
- Click the search engine icon on the left of the Firefox search box.
- Click Change Search Settings on the drop-down menu.
- Change your default search engine and remove Ask from the list.
- Click OK and press Ctrl+Shift+A.
- Disable and remove VerifiedVPN Toolbar from Extensions. Restart the browser.
Google Chrome
- Press Alt+F and go to More tools.
- Click Extensions and remove VerifiedVPN Toolbar from the list.
- Click Settings on the left pane.
- Mark Open a specific page or set of pages under On Startup.
- Click Set pages and change your homepage address, and click OK.
- Select Manage search engines under Search.
- Set a new default search engine, delete Ask and click Done.
In non-techie terms:
VerifiedVPN Toolbar is a potentially malicious browser extension that does not live up to its promises. It doesn’t provide you with the service you look for, and it may accidentally lead you to sites that distribute malware, so it would be for the best to remove VerifiedVPN Toolbar right away.